Thursday, May 29, 2014

Freelance Tip of the Day: Don't undervalue your skills

This is a hard one. I struggle with it everyday because it can be difficult to determine pricing as a freelance writer, especially when you're first starting out. There's a fine line between growing a client base by undercutting a competitor, and completely undervaluing your talents. Breaking out of the "I'm getting experience" or "I need more clients" phase can be tough, but essential if you want to turn this freelance writing thing into a career.

When you first start out as a freelance
writer, setting your rates low to gain clients can be the quickest way to bring in some cold, hard cash. Typically, it's important to find a niche, and establish yourself as an authority. You'll want to spend time learning trade nuances, gaining experience and clients, and honing your writing skills. These are all integral steps in starting a freelance writing career. However, once you've found the perfect niche, and researched and written numerous articles on the subject, raising your rates becomes necessary.

For one, there are bills to pay, and writing for pennies per word won't pay them without a whole lot of time and effort. There's nothing wrong with hard work, but building your freelance writing career is about more than just creating content. You have to have time to do other things like grow your business and attract new clients. That's impossible if you're writing articles all day.

Secondly, if you undervalue your skills, clients will undervalue them as well. It can be tough raising your rates for the first time, but as with most things, it all comes down to confidence. If you have researched and written content on a specific subject for months or years, there comes a time when you can confidently consider yourself an expert, and price your services accordingly.

There is a wealth of information around the internet about freelance writing rates. Read blogs, connect with freelance writers on LinkdIn and investigate what others are charging. Before long you'll be earning what you deserve, and living the good life as a well-paid, freelance writer.